


Liminal

by seaweedredandbrown



Series: Andrew and Beast's spooky adventures: a Spooky October 2016 writing challenge [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Flash Fiction, Gen, Image Prompt, Magical Realism, Tumblr Prompt, liminal spaces, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-19 22:31:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8226934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaweedredandbrown/pseuds/seaweedredandbrown
Summary: There’s a false sense of calm, here, a cognitive dissonance between the tranquillity of their walks - each in their own little world, lost in the orange-brown glow of the evening - and the bleakness of their surroundings.





	

**Author's Note:**

> To prepare for the NaNoWriMo madness, I'll be doing The Writer's Handbook's [Spooky October Writing Challenge](https://thewritershandbook.tumblr.com/twhoctoberchallenge2016). This is day two - based on this [image prompt](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fpixabay.com%2Fen%2Fshadows-night-shadow-play-92155%2F&t=NzZkNTBkNzBhZWM0M2VkOGMwZjk0ZWMwMzJiZmNlZTYwY2U1ZTAzYyxZWXRMSW5DSw%3D%3D&b=t%3APwM2LQACxX94j-ETUa24hA&m=1) \- and it stars Andrew, your average millennial, and his friend Beast, your average non-binary (they/them) anthropomorphic creature of doom.

Puddles of rain glimmer softly on cobbled stones, bathed in a distant headlight.

They’re walking in front of them, Andrew and his bright, kind-hearted friends - the one in front is called Nat, Beast thinks, and the girl Van.  
The air is heavy with - something. There’s a sweet aftertaste somewhere at the back of their mouth and a growing unease somewhere at the back of their mind.

The stars are not out, tonight.  
Maybe they shouldn’t have drank so much.

Beast is not even sure where they are. But they are out on the town with these kids, as if they were all *friends* or something, which is ridiculous; Beast does not make friends, not with humans, not with anyone. Well, he did, with Andrew - but then Andrew is the brightest and kindest of them all, and he’s the one who came to them, as always; and now he’s just one step ahead of them, as always, softly whistling to himself.

There’s a false sense of calm, here, a cognitive dissonance between the tranquillity of their walks - each in their own little world, lost in the orange-brown glow of the evening - and the bleakness of their surroundings.

Beast hates it, hates it all.

Beast hates the shadows that scurry along the walls, he hates the presence he can sense following them, stalking them, ready to prey on them at the first opportunity. Not only does this look like a bad part of town; derelict, self-governed, but this is also - this is a liminal space, but how can he explain? That the tapestry of reality sometimes frays, its threads hanging loose, unravelling, opening doors that should stay closed and letting _things_ pass through?  
They would not believe them.  
They cannot see the shadows on the wall, the hands that grow out of darkness to grab at their feet, the faces that cackle in the puddles of rain.

But Beast, who is not human, never has been and never will;  
Beast, who has been gifted with a sight better than Andrew could ever imagine;  
Beast, who is strong; (but what are muscles and flesh against shadows and smoke?)  
Beast can see it all, and they curl their fingers into fists as they assert the power of their will upon the world, discarding the reality of shadow-hands and puddle-faces to replace it with their own.

Puddles of rain glimmer softly on cobbled stones, bathed in a distant headlight.  
They’re walking in front of them, Andrew and his bright, kind-hearted friends.

"Hoi, dude, you're coming up or what?”

Beast will make sure they all make it home safe tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and the amazing [@johnnyfuckingappleseed](http://johnnyfuckingappleseed.tumblr.com/) for beta-reading and spell-checking this, as well as their constant hand-holding and encouragement. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!


End file.
